On Yer Bike: Give Your Legs a Workout on One of Serk's Weekend Rides
Top of the list of "things I always say I'll do but actually don't" is "get out of the city at the weekend" so despite my utter lack of cycling experience I jumped at the opportunity to join one of local cycling club Serk's weekend rides when they invited me along recently.
Serk is a cycling club and boutique bike shop founded by Australian expat Shannon Bufton. As well as cycling tours of more far-flung destinations around China, they also organize weekly bike rides on the outskirts of Beijing. Recent rides have taken in Miyun Reservoir, the area around Mutianyu, and the back roads of Metougou. The rides meet at their shop just north of the Lama Temple and east of the south gate of Ditan Park, where you can stock up on supplies for your bike and fuel up with a coffee made by Shannon himself, before boarding a mini bus to the start of the route.
A one ride pass, including transport to and from the destination for you and your bike costs RMB 350 or you can purchase a 10 or 15-ride pass for RMB 2,500 or RMB 3,000, respectively. Alternatively, if you have your own transportation, you can purchase a cheaper self-ride pass for RMB 100 or RMB 800 for 15. Pay in cash on the day or via WeChat.
You'll also need to have a fairly high quality road bike to take part in the rides – your cranky old Flying Pigeon won't cut it here – or you can rent a bike from Serk starting for RMB 250-450, depending on the quality and size of the bike. You can also rent a helmet for RMB 50. I was lent a super sexy lightweight titanium number that I was frankly loath to give back at the end of the ride.
The ride I joined took us to Pinggu, about an hour and half's drive northeast of the city center. Each ride is split into three groups: C, the easiest; B, for intermediate riders; and A, for serious cyclists. The length of the rides and the amount of hills involved vary, but as a rough guide, C group rides are usually around 50km with medium-intensity hills, B group rides are around 70km, and A group rides can be in excess of 100km with some challenging climbs.
Not without some trepidation (since my previous cycling experience amounts to cycling to the supermarket and back) I joined the beginners group but any of my fears were quickly assuaged – the group is super supportive and you are free to set your own pace. Serk posts a more experienced rider at the front and back of the group so you needn't worry about getting left behind. I ended up finishing our 44km route in just over two hours, helped along enormously by the aforementioned sexy bike.
Serk have been running the rides for a few years now but there are a few updates for 2017. Firstly, they will be organizing regular "Blue Sky Rides" to take advantage of the best of Beijing's weather. Obviously, these won't always fall on a weekend but if you purchase a ride pass you can still use it for these rides, whenever they fall. Secondly, they will be implementing the "Serk Safe Track" system, which tracks your location using GPS through an app on your smartphone. The tool will help the Serk team locate you in case of an emergency, as well as allow you to track your location on the cycling route.
The next ride, this Saturday, March 25, will be in Huairou and will travel along Fanqi Lu (范崎路), one of the best cyling roads around according to the Serk team. More details about the ride can be found here.
More stories by this author here.
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Photos courtesy of Serk
